hopefully, your summertime was filled with good times spent with your nearest & dearest along with random new discoveries destined to become lifelong favorites (mine: duck confit corn dogs handmade by the delicious kitchen at real, a gastropub. next time, our pau hana party agreed to order up enough plates so we each have one to call our own rather than splitting with our sweeties).

let me begin the first post of fall by sending a big mahalo to you, my sweet h|h 'ohana, for all your patience so i could enjoy a much needed summer free of online obligations. it allowed me to be next to my dear hubby's side as we said our final farewells to his dad and then recharge my soul with downton abbey marathons, reading stacks of books borrowed from the library to fall in love again with well-written words, and tackling all the tiny projects that had fallen by the wayside (mending pile - check!, archive emails - check!!, transfer domain to new company as my small protest against former registrar's ad campaign objectifying women - check!!!).

i'll be back tomorrow with an especially sweet post but 'til then find a few fun diversions for your week ahead along with the makers of the fab designs featured above after the jump!

photographer rita coury who just happens to be one of my lovely sponsors & who snaps the most delightful photographs of little ones and the people who love them will be hosting her second annual mahalo showcase on fri, sep 7th. a gallery of rita's favorite pictures snapped over the past year will be shared (find an adorable preview in h|h's sidebar) along with giveaways galore.

super citizen, the indie emporium specializing in eco-friendly goods, has decamped from chinatown and opened up shop at kahala mall. (alas, former neighbor chinatown boardroom shuttered its doors earlier this year.)

oh, and a bit more background on the designs featured above before i sign off for the day. i first spotted these cheery hi tees at the human imagination in chinatown which offers them in a generous selection of styles and colorways for keiki and grownups.

and the bubbly typeface featured in ashley johnston's happy-go-lucky we live hawaii design can't help but make kama'aina smile. stickers can be had in a rainbow of colors or share the aloha with a trucker hat.

off to make a batch of pineapple fried rice and listen to the first lady's speech!